Along with overeating, most consumers tend to overspend during the holiday season. With the New Year’s Day almost here, consumers should take control of their personal finances and budgets with the best personal finance books of 2010.

Theodore Connolly, co-author of the Road Out of Debt, researched many personal finance books in writing a manual on financial defense for those who need to stop financial problems before rebuilding their finances.  With so many good personal finance books, finding the best one for one’s particular needs is difficult.  Ted Connolly highlights the best personal finance books of 2010 that will help the reader to decide which one will best meet his or her needs for financial well being in 2011.

Best on Credit:

Perfect Credit: 7 Steps to a Great Credit Rating by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox.

Like it or not, credit scores have a dramatic impact on everyone’s lives. Perfect Credit does a magnificent job at setting out the way to establish superb credit so that the credit score is never an issue.

Living Well with Bad Credit: Buy a House, Start a Business, and Even Take a Vacation No Matter How Low Your Credit Score by Geoff Williams and Chris Balish.

Excellent book to put perspective on what credit is, how credit should be handled, and how to make sure that bad credit will not hamper the reader going forward.

Best for the Younger Generation:

Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back by Kimberly Palmer.

Not solely on finances, Generation Earn is a fantastic guide for young professionals on how to live more responsibly while still accomplishing financial goals.

Shoo, Jimmy Choo!: The Modern Girl’s Guide to Spending Less and Saving More by Catey Hill.

Intended primarily for a young professional female audience, the book is a fabulous resource on debt, savings, retirement and so many buying choices facing young professionals every day.

Best General Guides:

Suze Orman’s Action Plan: New Rules for New Times by Suze Orman.

One of the best financial advisers does it again by recognizing the new realities of finances and providing excellent strategies to handle them.

Your Money: The Missing Manual by J.D. Roth.

Great advice on what people need to do to make their money work for them.  Exceptional and sound financial guidance is found in this one easy-to-read book.

The Simple Dollar: How One Man Wiped Out His Debts and Achieved the Life of His Dreams by Trent Hamm.

While recanting his personal story of how he freed himself from his debts, the author, a prolific personal finance blogger, imparts excellent financial advice and tidbits.

Best for Inspiration:

The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper in Even The Toughest Times by Jean Chatzky.

Excellent book to learn how many of the actions people take regarding money hurt them greatly and what the wealthy do differently that allows them to succeed.

The New Year brings a perfect opportunity for consumers to refocus their attention on taking control of their personal finances and budgets.  The list of the best personal finance books of 2010 by Theodore Connolly, co-author of the financial defense book, the Road Out of Debt, will help guide consumers to financial well being for all of 2011.  For more information on all of the best personal finance books of 2010 visit www.roadoutofdebt.com.

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The personal finance software you use can be an important decision, as finding a good program can allow you to get a handle on your finances. It can make it easy to set up a budget, keep track of your bills and financial accounts and more, depending on how sophisticated the software is. If you want to know how to go about selecting the right financial software, keep the following factors in mind.

Despite your specific financial objectives, you perceptibly yearn for personal finance software that will make your life simpler. Nevertheless, if you put it to use the right way, it can do more than just automate tasks that you’d otherwise need to estimate by yourself. It can also help you to improve your financial situation by showing you exactly what’s going on. You can have momentary access to all the significant numbers, like your expenses, income, bills, bank accounts and investments. Therefore if you acquire personal finance program, be certain that you are making full use of it so that you can benefit from the benefits it has to offer. Microsoft Money Plus is one of the more familiar personal finance programs, although they have terminated the production of it. It’s important to know this, because you can still purchase this software online from some vendors, yet Microsoft will no longer provide support for it beyond early 2011. As a substitute, Microsoft will now have available – Money Plus Sunset Deluxe which is a free program that can be downloaded. This new program will be able to work on any Windows application and doesn’t demand any activation, although it does not come with any kind of Internet services or support. Therefore if you’re in search of free personal finance software that has some beneficial attributes then you should experiment with Microsoft Plus Sunset Deluxe however if you wish for a program that has full support you should try to find one that you have to purchase, for example Quicken or YNAB.

MoneyStrands is a kind of online personal finance software that is free and assists you in keeping an eye on your budget and offering up helpful money management advice. This program makes it painless to watch each of your financial accounts to present you with an overall picture of your financial circumstances. Plus, it has a free iPhone app which lets you have access to all of your data from your phone. Other than the financial tools, MoneyStrands is comparable to a social network, as it pushes you toward communicating with other members and exchanging information and recommendations. Plus, the service makes suggestions that are consistent with your way of living and your financial condition.

Today’s personal finance software offer you many features at mostly reasonable prices, if not free. Most of the contemporary programs are user friendly and easy to set up. Whether you want to try one of the programs mentioned above or look into others, make sure you make the best use of the program, which means using it regularly and imputing all of your financial data into it so it can guide you.

To determine the foreign exchange rate for different currencies, check the local paper for exchange rates, and pay attention to the inflation rate. Avoid exchanging money with countries that spend more money than they bring in with advice from a financial consultant in this free video on currency exchange. Expert: Roger Groh Bio: Roger Groh is the founder of Groh Asset Management. Filmmaker: Bing Hu
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The personal finance software you operate can have a huge bearing on your financial position. The finer programs let you deal with your budget and easily see unerringly how much is coming in and going out. Some programs, however, are more suitable for small businesses, others for investors and others for keeping track of your household budget. What follows are some examinations of eminent personal finance software programs and guidance for deciding among them.

It doesn’t matter what you are explicit financial aims are, it is evident you desire personal finance software that will make your life easier. Of course, if you utilize it appropriately, it can do more than simply automate tasks that you’d otherwise need to calculate on your own. It can assist you in developing your financial position by allowing you to see unerringly what is taking place. You can have instant access to all the relevant numbers, such as your expenses, income, bills, bank accounts and investments. So if you obtain a personal finance program, be sure you make full use of it so you can take pleasure in the real advantages it has to offer.

Microsoft Money Plus is one of the best known personal finance programs, but it’s been discontinued. It’s significant for you to recognize this, as you can still buy it from some Internet suppliers, although Microsoft will be discontinuing their support for it in early 2011. To make up for it, Microsoft will now offer a free program which is downloadable, called Money Plus Sunset Deluxe. This new program will be compatible with any Windows application and doesn’t command for any kind of activation, however there are no online services or support with it. So if you’re looking for free personal finance software with some useful features, you should try Microsoft Plus Sunset Deluxe, but if you want a program with full support you should look into one you have to pay for, such as Quicken or YNAB.

If you use a Macintosh, iBank-4 is one of the personal finance software programs to consider. This is an easy to use program that several Mac users find effective for tracking their finances. You can effortlessly stay on top of all your account balances, and also observe your investments. It allows you to import transactions from other programs like Quicken for Mac, as well as export to TurboTax to file your taxes. It presents to you a free 30 day trial, which includes support, so you can experiment with it for a full month before choosing to keep it. If you choose to go on with using it, it has an affordable price near . iBank-4 is a nice choice if you use a Mac and wish for a finance program that comes with an array of advantageous attributes.

If you desire to obtain optimal personal finance software, you need to ponder over your requirements, such as the kind of operating system you use, whether you favor an Internet service or downloadable software and which characteristics are essential to you.

With a bit of luck, this article has provided you with some beneficial on the kinds of personal finance software that is currently available. If you decide on the best program, you’ll discover that it’s effortless to deal with your money.

Personal Finance Services has become incredibly faster with the growing of financial market activities. Many private, public sector banks and financial organizations are progressing in a direction to expand the development concerning in personal financial services.

Dealing with our investment plans, future savings, debt management, estate planning and tax can be a very stressful task to successfully manage our personal finance. There are many tough decisions to make, and to consider just how every piece of the personal finance puzzle works and interacts can be very difficult without a strong financial background on the subject.

Personal finance services are very essential when there is enough money to operate an array of financial opportunities. As an individual or a family, looking for the help of a planner to make a plan to manage present and future personal finance, can greatly alleviate the stress and potential pitfalls of money management.

Some of the responsibility of making decisions can impact your lifespan on the person and will be gradually lifted through the guidance of a trusted adviser. However, there are also situations where people can deal with their personal finances without professional help.

Below are the following services that a bank can provide to make your financial situations a bit easier to manage.

•             They are 3 kinds of accounts.

First, savings account aims at developing savings for future purposes. Irrespective of the salary of a person, he or she may open a savings account in his or her name.

Second, In a Current Account the account holder can freely deposit and withdraw any amount of money providing that there is money in his account. However, these are not interest bearing accounts.

Third, Fixed Deposit is a good option in applying for loans. The account holder can get from his own account and also earn interest for the money deposited.

•             A personal loan is a very important personal financial service that is provided by banks. It is given for a variety of purposes in different banking institutions. Such as for the purchase of houses, two wheelers, new cars, used cars, overdraft against cars, express loans, gold loan, and loans against securities and loans against property.

•             Promoting investment and insurance services is also an important personal financial service that is provided by banks. It enables individuals to invest along cost-effective lines.

•             Payment services help to avoid queues and paper work. By the use of cards and debit cards also, payments can be made easy.

Other personal finance services that you can expect to receive from this company, which is very essential, is having the right type of investment advice whether it is for short or long term investments.

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There are a number of different reasons as to why a person should learn about personal finance, but it is perhaps understandable that most people can not see these reasons for themselves. Personal finance is a difficult topic to learn about and for that reason a person just naturally tends to shy away from it, making excuses in an attempt to avoid having to learn about it. Well, personal finance is extremely important and here are some reasons why.

Money Flow

If you understand personal finance, then you will understand your money flow a lot better. There are a number of people that muddle through life paying their bills and their mortgage payment with the money that they have and then spending the rest of it or maybe letting it sit in their bank account. These are people that have no idea how personal finance works, so even if they end up making the right decisions they are doing it through luck.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with this particular approach, don’t you think that you would feel much better if you knew exactly what was going on with your money flow? The old saying is that knowledge is power and if you know about your money flow, you arguably have the most important individual power that exists in the world today.

Uncertainty and Fear

Human beings as a species have an irrational fear of uncertainty. In this respect, we are no different from any of the other mammalian species walking the planet, because all of them have been conditioned through thousands of generations of being eaten and killed to be afraid of what they don’t know. Uncertainty and fear therefore go hand in hand and when they do this in relation to something as important to your basic survival as money, the paralyzing effect that fear can have on you is something that is not even pleasant to think about.

Compare this situation however to a situation where somebody knows about how their money flow works and understands their entire personal finance situation. This person is not a person that is likely to be afraid, since there is no uncertainty involved with their financial situation. It is a lot easier to be afraid when you have no idea where your money is coming from and where it is going.

Utilization

If you truly understand personal finance, then another thing that you definitely should understand is utilization. A person that does not understand or appreciate personal finance is a person that is unlikely to save a lot of money, instead spending whatever they happen to have left after monthly expenses on entertainment and impulse purchasing. While there is nothing wrong with being a consumer on this level, it is something that might hamper you later on in life when your income begins to dry up and you realize you have no prospects on the horizon.

If the person does not spend a lot and does not understand personal finance, the same thing could happen. While the money in your bank account is available to you instead of having been spent on something impulsive, it is still not being utilized to its fullest extent.

Only a person with an understanding of personal finance would know that money being saved should at the very minimum be placed in a high interest savings account and later on should also probably be invested in things that yield a much higher interest rate. This difference in understanding and ultimately in utilization comes specifically from an understanding in personal finance.

Getting a handle of managing your basic personal finance administration can return many financial rewards as well as provide you with more free time to pursue your interests and freed up money to invest. When we talk about the basic elements of anyone’s personal finances we are including a personal budget, savings and investment planning, managing your income and outgoings resourcefully as well as applying for loans and finance and various insurance policies you may need over your lifespan.

There are 4 key elements of good financial management to follow:

•             Budgeting

When creating a budget, you need to consider both your income and your expenses and set your spending habits up to spend less than you earn. Build a realistic budget that will facilitate you to meet your financial goals, and stick yourself to the budget.

Working without a budget usually leaves you mystified as your paycheck seems to disappear; leaving you empty-handed by the time the end of the month rolls around and it’s time to pay the bills or put food on the table. In addition, when you create a budget, you begin to see a clear picture of how much money you have, what you spend it on, and how much, if any is left over.

•             Investing

To be more efficient in dealing with personal finance basics, it is important to choose wisely when and how to invest your savings. Put your money to work earning interest in a savings account or returns in a retirement fund or a mutual or index fund or build equity in your home by paying down your mortgage. Better yet, increase your assets by investing in a few of these options, while keeping a liquid savings account for emergencies. Failing to take advantage of free money is a common personal finance mistake amounting in money lost to inflation and missed opportunity. Be cautious also of investments that promise a high return with little or no risk.

•             Debt Management

After creating a sound budget and cutting unnecessary expenses, you may still find yourself with remaining debt to get rid of. Mismanaging your debt through overspending, failing to budget or high interest rates can quickly send you in a downward spiral. The best way to handle debt is to stay out of it in the first place. Remember to stay away from temptation to “buy now, pay later” and only take loans for the essentials in life: education, transportation and habitation. As a general rule, do not finance anything for longer than its useful life. Keep your credit score high by keeping tabs on your credit report and paying your bills on time.

•             Insurance

You’ve definitely come a long way; there is one more important aspect of your finances that you need to consider.  You’ve worked hard to build a firm financial footing for you and your family, so it needs to be protected. Accidents and disasters can and do happen and if you aren’t effectively insured it could leave you in financial ruin. Everyone needs insurance to protect your life, your ability to earn income, and to keep a roof over your head.

Personal finance basics relates to analyzing your present financial status, setting financial short-term and long-term goals, setting up the execution for these goals, executing the goals and monitoring the growth, and reassessing the achievements and making compulsory adjustments for a rewarding result.

Master the 4 essentials of personal finance basics because your dream of a successful life depends on it.

Improving your personal finances is a lifelong and rewarding journey. Discover more on Finance Online Help here.

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Availing finance for your needs is not a wrong step to take nowadays. With so many needs arising in the modern world, we also want to live according to the standards of the society. And for that personal finance UK can be availed according to the need of the borrower.

Personal Finance UK is available to the borrowers for their personal needs that can be basic necessities or luxury needs. These needs may include car purchase, debt consolidation, home improvement, vacation trip, educational requirements, etc.

If while availing personal finance UK, the rate on the loan is the deciding criteria, then the borrower can pledge collateral for the personal finance UK. This way he will get a lower rate and a longer term for repayment. If however, the borrower does not want to pledge collateral, then he take up the unsecured form of personal finance UK. This loan option is very popular amongst tenants and non-homeowners and people who do not want to pledge their collateral.

Through secured form of personal finance UK, an amount of £5000-£75000 can be borrowed for a term of 5-25 years. Through unsecured personal finance UK, however an amount of £1000-£25000 can be borrowed. This amount has to be repaid in a term of 6 months to 10 years.

Bad credit borrowers can also take up personal finance UK. To compensate for their bad credit history, they are charged a higher rate of interest. This interest rate can be lowered by proper researching for an affordable deal for personal finance UK.

The rates of interest for personal finance UK can be lowered by proper researching online. Through the online mode, the borrower can apply for the personal finance UK and receive quotes from various lenders. A thorough comparison can be made by the borrower and the lowest deal can be selected for the finance.

Personal finance UK is available to the borrowers to help fulfill their needs. they can avail this opportunity as per their need and entail maximum benefits.

There are three traditional methods of managing personal income.

1. Budgeting,

2. Keeping a spending history, and

3. Doing nothing (also known as living from paycheck to paycheck).

Budgeting involves setting what percent of future income is to be spent on which categories of expenses, and then recording all purchases in order to track how well spending is staying within the predefined limits. The process sounds very simple, however, it is difficult, in my opinion, to stick with a budget for very long. The energy and dedication needed to keep track of where the money goes is tremendous. I’ve tried budgeting on several occasions and failed miserably because I couldn’t stomach keeping track of every penny I spent.

Traditional budgets also tend to fail because the setting of rigid spending limits does not lend itself well to being flexible. When unforeseen expenses pop up, a budget can be rendered useless very quickly. It’s my experience that budgets can feel like monetary straight jackets that are soon abandoned.

Spending Histories – A Vicious Cycle

Keeping a spending history also involves the recording of every penny spent. The intent is to use the spending history as a basis for identifying spending habits that can be improved and then making needed changes to future spending patterns. The main weakness of keeping a spending history is that it is focused on past activity and, therefore, is of little help when a person is trying to make immediate decisions about spending for current and future requirements.

Here’s the normal cycle of keeping a spending history. This cycle highlights the spending history’s weakness as a personal cash flow management tool.

1. It takes time to accumulate a spending history. While accumulating the history, inappropriate spending habits will probably continue. If you don’t consistently continue your bad habits, you won’t be able to document them in your spending history.

2. You have to keep track of, and record every penny of your spending. Spending information must be recorded in some type of tracking device that is capable of organizing the information and displaying useful reports and graphs. Two popular examples of these tracking devices are Quicken and Money. As mentioned earlier, keeping track of every penny spent, and dutifully recording that information, takes dedication and a lot of energy.

3. Whether or not changes to spending habits are effective, and whether or not habits are really starting to change, cannot be determined until additional spending history has been accumulated. After you have accumulated sufficient spending history such that you can see some of your bad habits, it’s time to adjust your spending patterns. To determine whether these adjustments are appropriate and have the desired effect, you have to return to step 1.

The failure of keeping a spending history as a personal cash flow management tool is, in my opinion, to be expected. This money management technique is, I believe, based on GAAP (generally accepted accounting practices) which are used by businesses specifically to keep track of what happened; not plan for what is about to happen. The “about to happen” part is left to annual budgeting processes. This accounting approach is appropriate for businesses; but, is cumbersome and unresponsive for personal use.

The software used to accumulate a spending history, in my opinion, also contributes to the failure of the spending history technique. These types of programs tend to be too complicated and inflexible for many people. I’ve tried both Quicken and Money. In addition to my own dislike for these programs, I have met very few people who actually use Quicken and Money for their intended purposes. The usual reason I hear for buying either of these programs is because they contain a check register. That is the only feature being used.

The “Doing Nothing” Method

I believe most people end up doing nothing either because they’ve never been shown a better way, or because, like me, they’ve tried and failed at budgeting and/or keeping a spending history. Doing nothing means their personal finance management is reduced to paying bills when the bills come due with the money that is on hand at the time. They live from paycheck to paycheck with periods when they have lots of money interspersed with periods when there may not be enough on hand to buy bread and milk. This roller coaster approach to personal cash flow, in my opinion, encourages ill advised spending and almost guarantees growing indebtedness.

What Is Month-To-Month Personal Finance?

There is a new alternative which overcomes all of the above personal cash flow management problems. Created out of practical necessity, this new alternative may require new ways of looking at, and thinking about personal finances and the tools that are used to manage those finances. Before looking at this new approach to managing personal cash flow, let’s first take a new look at the activities that comprise personal finances. Before you can begin to effectively manage your finances, it helps to have an understanding of what you are managing.

I break down month-to-month personal finances into the following five activities.

1. Receiving income.

2. Paying bills.

3. Paying day-to-day expenses.

4. Paying for larger than normal expenses.

5. Setting aside a cushion.

This list does not include any activity intentionally associated with wealth building. The concern here is dealing with the fundamental issues of living comfortably day-to-day and paying the bills on time. Once those issues are dealt with successfully and consistently, building wealth becomes a possibility.

It is my contention that the main reason people get into trouble with their finances is because they let activity 1, getting a paycheck, control when all of the remaining activities happen. Bills are paid typically on payday because that’s when money is available. Depending on how much is needed to pay bills each payday, the amount left over for day-to-day expenses could be a lot or a little. Sound familiar? And, since the receipt of paychecks is determining when bills are paid, and the size of the bills are determining how much pocket money is left, there is rarely any excess money for activities 4 and 5. Setting aside money “for a rainy day” just doesn’t happen. Making major purchases, such as replacing the refrigerator when it goes on the fritz or buying a new set of tires, adds even more to the credit card balances.

Having growing, uncontrolled debt and no savings can, I believe, be attributed directly to letting your paychecks control your cash flow.

Getting Off The Roller Coaster

How do you break the living from payday to payday roller coaster cycle? Budgeting and keeping a spending history, while very useful to some people, are, in my opinion, not the solutions that work for most of us. Getting control of your finances is, instead, a matter of simplifying your finances. This is done by decoupling all of your personal finance activities. The five activities listed above are related, but they can be managed separately. Once you begin handling your personal cash flow management activities separately, something magical happens. The domino effect of (1) get a paycheck, (2) pay bills, (3) put what’s left in your pocket, is stopped. Instead, your bills begin to get paid on time, and money for day-to-day expenses is consistent from week to week.

The decoupling of personal finance activities is achieved by consistently applying these two techniques.

1. Separate the receipt of income from the paying of bills. Instead of paying bills on payday, sit down and arrange for the payment of bills on a consistent schedule that is independent of when income is received.

2. Fix the amount of money for day-to-day expenses at an appropriate weekly amount. Instead of pocketing what’s left over after paying the bills, “pay” yourself the same amount on the same day every week regardless of when you get paid.

When consistently applied, these two very simple rules for managing personal cash flow are powerful. I’ve been using them for several decades in my personal finances. Prior to stumbling on these techniques, I used to lie awake nights worrying about how I was going to pay the rent. It was habit for me to be continually on the lookout for yet another bill consolidation loan. Sometimes buying groceries was not possible on short paydays. Setting aside savings wasn’t even something I thought about.

Since starting to use personal cash flow management tools that are based on the above two simple rules, money is no longer a controlling force in my or my wife’s lives. We always pay our bills on time. Lois and I continually have money in our pockets for day-to-day expenses. We have no credit card debt since we pay our statement balances in full every month on or before the due date. And planning for major and unexpected expenses is simple because we have a detailed, forward focused view of our current and future cash flow. Money and bills are not the sources of stress and discord they used to be.

It’s Easy If You’re Willing

Applying the above decoupling rules to your personal finance does not require any special tools. A properly constructed manual or software spreadsheet will do the trick. I used such a spreadsheet in Excel to help a teacher friend of ours go from “more month than money” to “more money than month” in just a few weeks. The problem was that our friend had to come see me regularly so I could update her spreadsheet. She was not that knowledgeable about using Excel. Plus, I was having to coach her on the techniques that made the spreadsheet work. That was when I made the decision to write a program so that I, and anyone else who is interested, would have a readily available, easy to use tool for simplifying management of their personal cash flow.

You also can achieve financial peace of mind. It’s easy if you are willing to make a few simple lifestyle changes including using a personal cash flow management tool that is based on the two decoupling techniques discussed above.

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My Dad and father-in-law were at both ends of the spectrum when it came to managing their checking accounts. Dad would spend hours, sometimes days, tracking down a two cent error in his checkbook register. It drove him bonkers when his checkbook didn’t balance to the penny with the account statement.

My father-in-law, on the other hand, didn’t even keep a checkbook register. He couldn’t be bothered with balancing his account. His philosophy was, “If I run out of money the bank will let me know.” That is a hands off approach that few of us can get away with, but, it worked for a person that was born and lived in a town of less than 800 people. The bank did, indeed, let my father-in-law know when he was overdrawn. They never, to my knowledge, charged him overdraft fees.

That approach can work in a small town in Northern Idaho. Most of us, however, do not have that kind of a relationship with our bank. In order for our personal finances to run smoothly, it is our responsibility to make the lifestyle choices, and do the work associated with managing our day-to-day finances. How we handle our checking account and credit card transactions is fundamental to keeping things running well.

My Approach Is Somewhere In The Middle

My approach to managing our family checkbook register is somewhere between the two parental extremes cited above. My wife, Lois, and I record all transactions in our register and, like clockwork, I balance our account every month. What I don’t do is spend an unnecessary amount of time trying to find errors when our account doesn’t balance with the statement. If the error is within comfortable limits, I adjust the account balance and then get on with my life. What’s a “comfortable limit?” That depends on the account balance. My error tolerance is directly proportional to how much money we have on hand when the error occurs. Balancing errors don’t happen very often. More often than not our checkbook balances to the penny. The accuracy can be attributed in some measure to the fact that I use personal finance management software.

The point is that personal finances do require some work, but, perfection may not be desirable. There are a lot of people involved in the processing of the various transactions each of us generates as part of our monetary lives. Those millions upon millions of transactions, large and small, are all subject to our own human error as well as the human errors that can be committed by all of those people behind the scenes who we rarely think about. It behooves us, therefore, to keep tabs on the pulse of our personal finances as recorded in our checkbook and credit card accounts. This ongoing monitoring can be psychotic or a normal, healthy part of our lives. It’s up to each one of us to decide where we stand on this issue. Will we adopt a fringe behavior like one of my parents? Or will we keep it sane and simple (K.I.S.S.)?

Using Tools Imposes Lifestyle Choices

Using a cash flow management tool forces you to make choices by imposing lifestyle traits that are required if the tool is going to work as intended. That may sound intimidating, but, for a well written, user friendly program, the required lifestyle traits are not an undue burden. For those of us who are sincerely interested in having “more money than month” instead of “more month than money,” developing a few, possibly new habits need not be a harsh adjustment. The payback in financial peace of mind is very well worth it.

Choices We Make Regardless

First, let’s take a look at those habits that will make your financial life easier regardless of whether or not you use personal finance software.

* Keep your checkbook register accurate. Your checking account is probably your primary money management tool. It just makes common sense, in my opinion, to keep your checkbook register up-to-date and accurate. If you are not used to writing every transaction (e.g. checks, ATM transactions, deposits) in your checkbook register, or balancing your checkbook every month, these are habits you may want to look at developing immediately. Should you decide to use a money management program, an accurate checkbook is imperative.

* Keep an accurate record of charge transactions. If you use charge cards, keeping an accurate record of your charges and returns is also vital to the success of your cash flow management efforts. In my opinion, not keeping track of charges is a main contributor to why many people get into trouble with charge card debt. I think it is vitally important that, starting today, you keep the receipts from all of your charge transactions for no other reason than for reconciling your monthly credit card statement. If you are using appropriate personal finance software, charge transactions are entered into the program as soon as convenient. The program will, with accurate charging information, keep you informed of where you stand on your charge card debt.

Choices Imposed By Software

The following issues are specific to the successful use of many personal finance programs.

* One checking account. How people manage their personal funds is very, well, personal. For a single person, the choices are simplified. Once a person takes on a partner, however, personal finances can become complicated depending on how much financial autonomy each partner requires. Regardless of how many savings and checking accounts each single or partnered person may have, at least one checking account is normally required for use with the software. This one checking account, coupled with the program, is used to plan for and pay bills; plan and pay for planned purchases; and to smooth out weekly living expenses. The intent is for the program and it’s associated checking account to encapsulate a person’s entire month-to-month financial records.

* Pay bills on a schedule. Instead of paying bills when you receive them or when you get paid, pay your bills on the same days each month. An appropriate schedule for most people would be on the 1st and 15th of each month. The mechanics of bill payment (e.g. check, cash, online, automatic withdrawal) are entirely up to you, but, sitting down twice a month and arranging for your bills to be paid on or before the date they are due will simplify and smooth the paying of your bills.

* Pay yourself on a schedule. “Paying” yourself a fixed amount of spending money the same day each week regardless of when you receive your income will smooth out your day-to-day expenses. How much weekly spending money you give yourself is entirely up to you as is the weekday on which you “pay” yourself. The trick is to find that amount of weekly spending money that is enough for day-to-day expenses, but not so much that you don’t leave yourself enough to pay bills. An appropriately written personal finance program will automatically include your personal “payday” in your month-to-month financial projection so you can easily see whether you have correctly set your weekly spending money amount.

* Keep accurate records. An appropriately written personal finance program gives you a “forward looking” projection of your month-to-month cash flow. When using such a tool, keeping your cash flow projection current is the key to giving you a continual picture of where you are and where you’re headed. You will, therefore, have to be consistent with keeping your month-to-month financial records current. With the right personal finance software, this does not have to be a big chore like keeping track of every penny you spend, or entering and categorizing every check you write. In an appropriately written personal finance program, most of your record keeping will consist of entering bills when you receive them, entering charges as you incur them, paying yourself once a week, reconciling bank and charge account statements, and paying bills. Typically, all of this financial activity will take two to four hours per month.

Paperwork Flow

There are a couple of habits that Lois and I have developed that simplify tasks like the keeping of accurate records. When any piece of paper is received on which is recorded a financial transaction, that piece of paper is placed in our “In” basket. While most of our financial transactions are handled electronically, there are still items like charge slips, magazine subscriptions and account statements that are printed. By placing all such printed items in one place, they get recorded in our computer records accurately and in a timely manner. It is unusual for one of our paper transactions to be forgotten.

Those pieces of paper that are needed for account reconciliation, like credit card receipts, are put into a “Hold” folder after having been recorded in our personal finance software. Those pieces of paper that are not needed after being recorded are shredded or burned. After reconciling credit card statements, all of the pieces of paper for transactions that have cleared are removed from the “Hold” folder and also destroyed.

It’s a simple system, but, it works for us. As long as everyone in a household knows the “paperwork flow,” and habitually uses that flow, the chances that transactions will be lost, resulting in potential financial errors, are greatly reduced.

Being Big Brother To Your Checking Account

Another habit that I have adopted is the close, online supervision of our checking account. I’m a big fan of online banking which gives me almost up to the minute information about the status of our checking account. As part of my computer startup procedure, I take a look at the activity in our checking account. This may sound a bit paranoid, but, I’ve been able to spot unexpected activity on several occasions. There has been nothing traumatic like identity theft, but, by keeping a close eye on checking account activity I’ve caught unexpected withdrawals shortly after they happened instead of being surprised on the next account statement. The most recent example involved automatic credit card payments that I thought I had cancelled. It took two months working with the credit card company’s customer service staff to straighten that one out. Had I not spotted the first unexpected payment when it happened, our checking account could have been short by .00 each of those two months. That may not be a large amount, but, it could have been enough to cause a potential, inconvenient problem if left undetected.

Financial Peace Of Mind

All of the discussed lifestyle habits are so firmly embedded in Lois and my everyday lives that we no longer even think about them. Consequently, our month-to-month finances are smooth with few interruptions. When we do have to discuss financial issues, it’s a discussion over known choices instead of fights over who is doing, or not doing what. Money is not a source of discord in our lives like it can be for couples. Lois and I have been enjoying financial peace of mind for most of the 40+ years of our marriage. This financial bliss can be attributed directly to the unique cash flow techniques upon which our personal finance management software is based.